As election time gets near, I have noticed in the past that A lot of mainline radio Preachers start preaching that it is a sin not to vote.
What are your thoughts??

My wife and I are both Desert Storm veterans and I've never not voted. However, between the last election and one the Lord has changed me so much that I'm at a point where I cannot vote in good conscious .

Honestly, I'm tired of hearing people come up with reasons they believe it's a sin to not vote. If you want to vote, by all means vote! The only reason that I would vote either way is the abortion issue and since both parties cannot be trusted with this one issue (based on both of their track records) then to me they are both not qualified.

My opinion. Yours may be (and probably is) different, praise God that He doesn't create clones! :-)

I do not "think" that "is it a sin" is the way to look at it. I could be wrong.

I will say that I have had period in my christian walk were I resolved not to vote. I have since changed that opinion and I now vote.

Also in my opinion one should not complain to much about the representatives if they did not particpate by voting.

Also when you have millions of christian believe the lie that there vote does not count,,,well that does not help either.

No it is not a sin to not vote, unless the Lord tells you specifically to. There is a good previous thread on this issue of voting/not, participating in military/not, concerning ourselves as Christians as believers or not. I can't remember what it's called. But I think it may have started out as the one that says something like "Baptist Pastor endorses Mormon Mitt Romney" if memory serves me correct. Greg or one of the other moderators can verify this.

I meant to say "concerning ourselves with politics as believers of not" in previous post

This is a 100% faith issue, too.

Rom 14:23b ...for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Pilgrim

Voting in secular political elections is more than simply expressing your preference for one candidate over another. By voting you are saying that you want a particular candidate to fill a particular position and to perform the duties associated with that office. When it comes to top state and nation leaders, part of their duties include supporting acts of violence.

Quoting from "Blood Guilt," page 253 (see New Covenant Press, www.covenant.nu , 2011):

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When it comes to the legislative branch, the U.S. Constitution says, “Congress shall have power to declare war.” For the American voter, this means that a vote cast for a congressional representative not only signifies an endorsement of that candidate, but also of the duties and job functions they will perform when they are elected. By their votes, Christians in effect authorize their elected officials to act in the following ways: to punish and execute criminals; to lead armed forces; to repel invasions and suppress insurrections; and in our day, to invade foreign countries for the supposed purpose of fighting terrorism. Whether they realize it or not, Christians who exercise their right to vote endorse such actions by their votes. When Christians elect officials whose duty it is to govern a people using the threat of violence against them, and who have the power to use violence against others in distant lands, Christians in effect become their supporters and employers. When Christians participate in these types of secular elections, they are not only selecting representatives, but also authorizing those representatives to act as their agents — agents whose duties include using the threat of violence against others. And by extension, what Christians do by their agents, they do themselves.

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So is it a sin not to vote? No. Actually, just the opposite would be the case, for by abstaining from secular politics, including elections, one will be able to fulfill the call to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves."

I think the question itself is nonsense. To ask this question tells me that anyone who takes the questions of 'is it a sin not to vote' doesn't really know what sin is and therefore should examine their version of Christianity because there is unbalance there. It leads to a skewed view and then others are exposed to it and are skewed as well.

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John